1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method of network selection by user equipment (UE) in an access network such as a wireless local area network (WLAN).
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the WLAN specification (IEEE 802.11a and b which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), a WLAN can inform a UE of a service set identifier (SSIDs) (length 32 octets) of networks which are connectable thereto. Typically in WLAN systems, the WLAN SSID field includes a “network name”. This network name is freely selectable ASCII string by the WLAN provider. It is typically something like “WLAN NW XYZ ” or “Mr Smith WLAN” or “NOKIA WLAN”. These types of names are used manually by the user to select the network to which to connect. However this requires a priori knowledge about the capabilities of the network having a certain name. This type of usage is acceptable for private networks to which the user typically always connects to a small number of WLAN networks.
However, the user cannot have global knowledge of all the WLAN network names (SSIDs) and their capabilities. Therefore, the user is unable to select the best network or to even have a feasible option of choosing from a list of provided network names.
In cellular systems the network selection operates by the cellular networks broadcasting their public land mobile telephone (PLMN) identification (ID). The UEs may make automatic network selection based on preferences stored in a GSM subscriber identity module (SIM) or a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) made by the operator or by user. The UE allows the user to make a manual selection when the UE browses available PLMNs. The UE converts the PLMNs to user friendly network names from internal memory and the user selects the desired network.
In GSM and GPRS systems, a PLMN-ID is linked to a branded network based on stored information in the UE.